Rice exports during the first nine months grew to 7.2 million tonnes, which puts them on track to reach 9 million tonnes this year, said the Commerce Ministry.

The value of rice exports through September reached Bt77.2 billion. Rice shipments in September alone were 876,000 tonnes and worth Bt9.4 billion, an increase in quantity of 39 per cent and a 45 per cent increase in value from September 2003, said Rachane Potjanasunthorn, director-general of the Foreign Trade Department.

We will surely achieve our rice export target for this year of 9 million tonnes considering that between October 1 through 6 rice exports were 300,000 tonnes, Rachane said.

Overseas importers are rushing to buy more rice as prices have risen in recent weeks in anticipation of a government rice intervention scheme, which is set to start in November when the main 2004-20005 crop starts coming in, Rachane said.

The government has decided to intervene in the domestic market to shore up rice prices in a bid to help the nations farmers.

Thai five-per-cent white rice was quoted in the physical market at around Bt9.30 per kilo yesterday, up from around Bt8.90 last week.

The government said last week it was ready to approve a proposal to raise the intervention price under the state buying scheme by Bt300 per tonne within weeks.

The intervention price for 5-per-cent white paddy grade will be set at Bt6,500 per tonne, up from Bt6,200 announced in July. It was Bt5,235 last year.

In September the export price for jasmine rice 100-per-cent second grade also known as Pathum Thani rice was US$431 (Bt17,844) per tonne. The price of 100-per-cent second-grade white rice was $203 last month.